Thought Catalog

Don't Hate The Experiences That Shaped You

"Don’t Hate The Experiences That Shaped You"

By Rania Naim

Don’t hate your heartbreak. It made you stronger. It made you wiser. It made you more discerning in your choices. It made you realize that your future is not tied to anyone who leaves and you can survive even the toughest and most painful heartbreaks.

Don’t hate your mistakes. They were turning points. They were important lessons you needed to learn. They don’t define you. You don’t have to always apologize for them. They belong to your past. They were decisions made out of fear, out of inexperience or maybe out of love. They’re stepping stones to rise above the person you once were. They taught you how to move on. How to be better.

Don’t hate the darkness. The lonely nights. The tears. The agony. The nights it seemed like everyone was living while you were slowly dying. Your darkness made you fight for the light. It made you work on your art. It made you get rid of your ego and ask for help. It made you appreciate things you took for granted and it showed you that there’s so much light in vulnerability, in letting people know that you can’t always be strong and it showed you that there is always a way out of the darkness as long as youchoose to do something about it, as long as you choose to find an exit.

Don’t hate your choices. Don’t hate your decisions. Even if they were wrong, even if you think they ruined your life and even if you feel like you will never be able to bounce back from certain falls.Maybe some things are meant to be left alone, ruined or broken so we can move on. Maybe some things are meant to fall apart without falling back together. Maybe our bad choices don’t need to be corrected because they will still be bad choices. Maybe our bad choices are exactly what we needed to learn how to let go and learn that we don’t always know what’s best for us.

Don’t hate your journey. It’s what made who you are today. It’s what urged you to either follow your passion or change your life drastically. It’s a reflection of everything you’ve accomplished and everything you’ve endured. It’s your story and every good story has ups and downs, every good story has a villain and a hero and every good story embodies a difficult journey before you get to the happy ending, it includes moments of despair and darkness before you see the light.